Your BOB had all the wrong gear for all the wrong reasons.

From another discussion -- Listen, you're not going to hike off into the wild and survive with your BOB. You're going to throw it into the car and take it to a hotel or shelter or friends house till things blow over.

I describe the kit I keep in the car as my “emergency kit”; it is not designed around “bugging out” as much as it is meant to provide for gear that I know how to use for a wide range of situations, from tightening a bolt on a kid’s bicycle to a multi-dozen-vehicle interstate pileup combining rescue, mass-casualty and communications emergencies.

Bugging out is much more likely to require an overnight bag and a hotel reservation.

That describes my BOB, which is a suitcase with the usual items plus a box of alcohol swabs and refill items for my EDC bag.

Jeanette Isabelle

My "BOB", sitting about five feet away as I type this, is strongly influenced by the backpacks I used doing fairly extensive and frequent SAR many moons ago. Sometimes the necessary response was leisurely and all too often, immediate.

The bag was therefore packed with basics, along with fairly elaborate EMT items and enough gear to see me through about two nights out in the hills. Usually there were a few items of technical climbing gear.

The contents of my bag are considerably less complex these days, since I now only need to contend with the benign SoCal climate. But I can easily get ready for a typical day trip and make quick forays to the Channel Islands.

This set up was very useful when we had to evacuate a couple of years ago. The pack was tossed in the car,along with our caged cat,a bit more water, sleeping bag, emergency money supply and other odds and ends and we left at 2 AM. most of this stuff was not really used, but we lucked out, staying at no expense in a decent motel. I was still glad I had my basic gear, essentially the ten or so essentials, as well as other basic gear (suitable clothes for the climate and for comfortable sleeping).

Generally,your gear needs to be tweeked for different seasons and situations. This was especially true in southern Arizona, where you could be on snowshoes one week, and conducting swift water rescue the next.

Think more in terms of a spy's bag than a wilderness survival one.

What do you mean?

Jeanette Isabelle

Maybe he means that your BOB should be hidden in an air vent and contain a Glock, lots of cash and various foreign currency, and a number of falsified ID’s with corresponding passports (in various names with pictures taken in disguise). Yeah... no, my BOB doesn’t have any of those “essentials” either. I think I know where my out-of-date passport is stored but I haven’t seen it in years. I am officially no longer a spy LOL

No - in the spy world you need a bag to grab with supplies to get you to safety -- Usually a passport, tools, clothes, cash...

Russ, of course you saaayyyy that you're not a spy. That's exactly what a spy would say. Spy gear is usually stored in a hidden closet, unless there is an entire communication bunker.

We've pretty much been living under the "bug in" thinking. Our only real limited resource is food and (much to my wife's concern) toilet paper. We have a natural gas whole house generator that provides well water, and probably a year's supply of horse hay (there's a hay shortage in WI, so we hoarded a bit to be safe). Right now we stock up with the thought of a 2-4 week self quarantine if one of us gets the big C. Heck, we can get almost anything we need via internet orders.

This area's biggest threats are tornadoes (get to the basement) and forest fire (leave the immediate area for a few days).

I keep what I call my "hiking pack" that is my survival kit. I don't do long treks in deep woods anymore. It contains typical short term (overnight?) survival gear (first aid kit, blades, ferro rod, lighter, tinder, 1 qt nalgene bottle, steripen, gps, compass, two headlamps, paracord, ...), but limited shelter (two 55 gallon bags and two headnets, I do consider our car shelter). Recently I threw in two of Doug's survival kits for good measure. We think our PLB has aged enough to be replaced this summer.

In addition to the PLB, we've been talking about better ... uh... home security equipment (in addition to the dogs). I suspect police response time could approach an hour. We'd be better to call the local ambulance crew.

Oddly, now that we've moved to a pretty rural area one of our biggest concerns is if we get into a big car accident, and nobody knows that there are two dogs and two horses at home that need care. When we go on longer drives we send a brief itinerary to family, and then let them know when we return. The folks around here are amazing. I've joked with out of state family that even a call to the local Shell station would bring the needed help.

Terminology is often ill-defined. When some folk say bug-out-bag they think a bag with all the supplies you’ll need to survive in the wilderness for weeks/months/indefinitely — and you need to carry it there on foot. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Carrying medium-long term supplies on your back is a non-starter.

I’ve often said that my bug-out-bag is a truck. For medium-long term you need a lot of supplies unless you have the requisite skill-sets and seriously expect to live off the land.

Teacher’s bag that you “grab with supplies to get you to safety” is what I consider to be a bail-out-bag. It’s small, light and minimalist because its only purpose is to get you to another place quickly; the other place already has what you need for the medium-long term.

County Comm Bail Out Bag, Gen 8 has good organization, compartments for essential paperwork, FAK, water bottle and other small essentials... approx 1386 cu.in.

On TeeVee a spy’s bag may have lots of cash/foreign currency and multiple passports because a spy may need to travel by air under a false identity — we’re not spies. For the rest of us: cash, ID, a change of clothes and a toothbrush. Tools are heavy, they should already be at the bug-out site (along with a firearm (more than one) which in some hands might be considered tools).

My goal is to get a bug-out-site suitable and well stocked, and dump my bug-out truck for something more minimalist.